The Longest Year
by Chauclit
Summary: "I only had one year. My last year, though I didn't know at the time. I can only say that I made the most of it."


**AN:** I'm just gonna leave this here...

Disclaimer: I do not own the Persona Series.

* * *

 **Chapter 0: Beginnings**

* * *

Right.

Let's see...

Uhhh...

...how do I begin this?

Well... let's see... considering this is a long, long story, I guess we should start at the beginning. After all, without a beginning there shouldn't be an end, right?

...

...

...

...

...

Haaaaahhh...

Okay.

Let's... or maybe, I'll start this... this... tale, I guess. A tale of my... crazy, spiralling life.

Keep in mind that I'll be cutting some things short. You don't want to hear my _whole_ life story, don't you?

Or do you?

...

...

...

...we'll see. Fine. Got to keep this interesting, I guess. Then again, what could happen in one year?

A lot of things, apparently. During my short life on Earth, this one year was the year everything was on full tilt. So much stuff was out of control and all I could do was try and adjust to my new way of life. It all came full circle in the end. And it just happened to start on Tatsumi Port Island, all the while ending there as well. The sad thing? When I realised too late that it was my last year.

On Earth. Life. Youth. Work. Old age. Everything in between.

Yep. I died young. I... guess, I died young? Should be about right. Seventeen (or was it sixteen?) years I've spent on this earth and I'd be lying if I said I'm not sad about staying and enjoying my life for much, much longer. Of course I'm upset.

But... could I say that I enjoyed my brief life? Believe me when I say that my life was not boring. It was filled with adventure, struggle, drama, action, friendship, romance...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...a bit complicated, that one.

...yeah...

But anyway, my life was filled with multiple happenings and events that literally could've changed or ended the world we know.

Of course, I was inevitably stuck in the in-between. The in-between of many things. Destiny, fate, someone, something, whatever, had a plan for me and I couldn't find a way out.

But back to my previous question...

...did I enjoy my brief life?

Hmmm...

...

...

...

...sure. I guess you could say that. As hectic as it was, I probably wouldn't have changed a thing. Maybe a few here and there, but overall? Nah. The pros outweighed the cons, but at great cost.

So, in short, I enjoyed my life. Let's get to the beginning now shall we?

* * *

 _Time never waits._

 _It delivers all equally to the same end._

 _You, who wish to safeguard the future, however limited it may be... you will be given one year; go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide..._

My name is Minato Arisato.

I was born sometime in 1992. I am sixteen years old during my time at Gekkoukan High, my new school that I'm transferring into. I'm a travelling student who transfers to different schools at different places as one school is not enough. Heh. Lucky me.

Of course, that was sarcastic. People called me lucky; I, sure as hell, was not. They say I was lucky getting to leave their schools because it was 'boring'. To be honest, all of them were. But having to keep changing schools over and over again, just when you were getting used to one school... nah. That was not lucky. That was a hassle that took effort. Having to adapt to different locations, different people, different subjects, different transport and all that jazz, was just my luck. I absolutely hated waking up early in the morning just to get to school. That was one of the reasons I choose to sleep during lessons, whatever school I went to. Gekkoukan High was going to be no exception to that.

What I look like: pale complexion, sort of skinny and my most notable features; my cool blue eyes and my dark blue curtain of hair. Don't ask me how I got it, but I think it's hereditary. I like it, even though people think it's weird.

However, some people from previous schools think otherwise, as they rather _helpfully_ mentioned. Now I like to think I'm no prude, but their shameless behaviour surprised even me. Just thinking about it now gives me shivers. That was one of my own personal reasons that I kept to myself about leaving schools. I don't go and find attention, but attention seemed to always find me.

Still didn't stop them from making advances though. I'm getting the chills now.

Anyways, other stuff you might like to know: I'm shorter than average, normally seen with my precious, precious headphones and I don't know if I have any relatives (if I do, or did, they never gave the time to see me. That one was a truly bitter pill to swallow). I'm also an orphan. I witnessed my parents' deaths in my younger years. That's all you need to know.

Onto other things. I arrived at Iwatodai Station at midnight. Some guy threw himself onto the tracks and that's why I arrived so late. I would talk more about this but it's rather uneventful, so I'll move on. Bless him.

So there I was, getting off at the station minding my own business and generally ignoring the things going on around me. My music was on loud so as to keep me occupied and I was on my late, merry way towards Iwatodai Dorm.

But, of course, everything had to change then and there. Now that I think about it, I guess that was when the state of normalcy my content life was in, literally disappeared.

What once was a lively and bustling cityscape filled with people and typical for a city that doesn't really sleep, was now a scene from a nightmare.

Hearing that my music wasn't playing, I looked up from the map I was trying to make sense of to see a dark, very dark sky with a sickly green moon projecting the only source of illumination onto the equally dark and dank looking city. Streaks of green were reflecting off surfaces and puddles of what used to be water, were now coloured a dark vermillion, reminiscent of blood. The atmosphere was deathly quiet and the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing through my now silent headphones.

Lines of pitch black coffins littered the streets of the city in neatly organised rows and columns to create a haunting picture of... well... peace. A rather disconcerting peace but that's the best word I could come up with.

Being my rather indifferent self, I just wrote it off as weird. Strange as it was that the change of scenery happened right before my eyes, but I just had to get to the dorm. I was tired then and maybe I just thought my mind was playing with me.

Oh, how wrong I was.

After writing that piece off into the back of my mind I followed the map to Iwatodai Dormitory, the place where I would spend the rest of my life, right until my inescapable end.

* * *

Iwatodai Dormitory was in one word, mediocre.

Located relatively nearby Iwatodai Station and a good distance away from the school itself (a very good distance), the building looked old. Then again, I always kept my hopes low. I was already expecting something like this considering the other places I stayed at. I would later find out that this place would be the best out of all of them. But at the time, it was okay.

After finally arriving at the place and just sightseeing around the area for a bit just to get my bearings, I headed inside. The dark sky and the green tint that was everywhere didn't really help with the nerves of meeting new people. The drowsiness was getting to me.

The inside of the dorm was homely and kind of reminded me of a hotel. A counter was on the left, located near the entrance and a sitting area was placed on the right. Toilets were only a few seconds walk away for convenience purposes and a dining table was placed further on in the foyer.

"Hello there."

I turned.

Looking straight at me was a young, scrawny boy wearing what looked like a typical prison jumpsuit with black and white stripes and his blue eyes were staring at me. His visage held an inquisitive gaze that looked very, very unnerving. Almost unnatural. Maybe it was just the way he looked.

"Uhhh... hey?"

Being my not-so-lucid self (seriously, I was tired), I spoke out a greeting. The boy's mouth was now curling into a grin that unnerved me even more. The dark atmosphere certainly did not help.

"What is your name?"

"...what's it to you?"

Maybe I came on a little hard. He was a weird kid, but he was still a kid.

The boy just kept on grinning that grin, "..."

I stared at him. For a long time. Why wasn't he saying anything?

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, the boy continued, "You're late. I've been waiting a long time. Here," the boy held out a piece of paper, "If you want to proceed, please sign here."

"What is it?" I asked warily.

The boy kept smiling, "It's a contract."

"...for what?"

"There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accept full responsibility for your actions."

Okay, if this was a welcoming thing, it was weird. Seriously. Strangely enough, I ruminated his words. What the hell was he on about? I've been taking responsibility of my life ever since my parents died! What's the difference now?

As if the words weren't mysterious enough...

I put them on the back burner for now and stared at the paper that was held out towards me. It was the same strange stuff that the boy was presenting to me through his words and it read:

 _I chooseth this fate of mine own free will._

 _Signed,_

It was a simple sentence on a piece of paper. I looked up to see the boy still staring at me with those blue eyes of his.

"What is this for? The dorm?"

"For everything."

"..."

Seeing him stare at me for the longest time, I was getting tense and unnerved by the intensity of it. Also counting in the fact that I was tired, I just signed the piece of paper. That was when his face broke its smile.

"...very well." His eyes were still on me, they just weren't focused on me, "Time never waits. It is something no one can escape and delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away, no matter how hard we try."

All of that was said pensively. All I could do was watch him speak to himself (or me), about whatever he was talking about. He was still speaking cryptically and it bothered me to no end that I didn't know what he was going on about. Suddenly, he grinned again.

"And so it begins..."

I watched with tired eyes as the boy disappeared right in front of me, his thin silhouette literally melting into the darkness. Before I had time to ponder, yet another sound broke through the eerie silence that had permeated moments earlier.

"...who's there?!"

A female voice was heard further into the building and it wasn't a while later that the voice's figure appeared, bathed in the green light of the gigantic moon.

"What... how can you be..." She looked at me as if I was an anomaly, someone who wasn't supposed to be here and she shot glances outside where a dark city filled with coffins resided. Her eyes widened as something seemed to click within her, "Don't tell me..."

It was only then that I realised that she held a _gun_ in her hands. The glint of cold steel shone even in the darkness that filled the lobby of the dorm. Her face contorted into one of angry worry, as if I was the one who'd done something wrong.

"Hey now..." I spoke to relieve some of the tension in my gut. No way was I going to get gunned down in a dorm, "What are you doing with that...?"

I could tell even she was reluctant to raise it, but she eventually did, albeit shakily, "How are you here...? Tell me, how!"

"Huh...?" I had raised my hands up at this point and was starting to move forwards slowly, "I walked here, okay? I got here from the station. This is..." I glanced towards a pamphlet on the reception desk, "Iwatodai Dorm, right?"

If anything, she looked incredulous at my words. It was worth a try, "Y-You walked here...? How did you..."

"What?"

"Never mind that!" She focused on me again, hands still shaking, "Why are you here?!"

"I am a-"

"Wait!"

The girl holding the gun gasped and I watched as she nearly pulled the trigger. I let out a breath, as another feminine figure walked up to the confrontational one. Just as I was about to relax, the atmosphere changed. The dark green that shone through the window was now drowned out by the industrial lamps that hung on the walls of the lobby, as light seemed to have appeared once more.

"The lights..." The first girl said in confusion. She glanced towards me, before looking at the now visible redhead standing behind her. She gave a nod and the worried girl slowly relaxed until her arms were slack by her sides.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late." The redhead spoke, as she made her way closer. I hazarded a guess that she was somewhat like the pseudo-boss/leader, if her actions and the way she spoke made it easy to tell.

I only now noticed that my headphones were blaring loudly in the quiet lobby. I moved to pause the song playing and answered her unanswered question, "Something happened while I was on the train. I got delayed."

"Something?"

I shot a glance at the other girl who seemed to be listening, "I'm sure you'll hear about it on the news."

She raised one delicate brow, "Really?" She looked towards the other girl, only to see her staring back at me warily. The redhead seemed to pick up on this, "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

"Who's she?" I pointed at the other girl.

"She's Yukari Takeba," the now named Yukari nodded and waved awkwardly. Considering she just pointed a gun at me, it was understandable. I only gave a nod of acknowledgement which seemed to make her more uncomfortable as she put her hands around her back, "She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

I decided to ask the obvious question, "Why do you have a gun?"

"H-Huh?" It seemed to have caught her off guard, as she sputtered for a response, "U-Uh, well, it's sorta... like a hobby...?" She even trailed off into a question. She was stumped. Even I would've questioned a hobby like that, especially if they were a teenager, "W-Well, not a hobby, but..."

The redhead seemed amused, as she cut in to save her, "You know how it is these days. It's for self-defense." She smiled, "It's not a real gun, of course."

"Right," I spoke, "Well, you have some interesting hobbies." At this, the corner of my lips twitched upwards.

If anything, the older girl seemed to smile wider and my soon-to-be schoolmate went red, "Indeed."

Mitsuru then seemed to appraise me as she stared at me with her smile still on. I silently stared back.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

...huh. This was actually kind of awkward. I broke contact to look over at Yukari to see she was staring as well. She quickly averted her eyes.

"Well," Mitsuru interjected, "It's getting late, so you should get some rest. Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there." She turned to Yukari, "Would you show him the way?"

"Oh!" She perked up for some reason, "I'll show you the way. Follow me."

We only just got to the stairs when she suddenly stopped and looked back, before turning to me once more, "Um... can I have just one minute? I just remembered something."

I just shrugged. What's one more minute anyway? More time to sleep during class, "Why not?"

"Thanks. Just one minute." She smiled, before making her way to our senior. I watched her as I put my headphones over my ears to drown out the world, before I shut my eyes to focus.

* * *

"Um," Yukari watched as her upperclassman stare out the window, "Senpai?"

She turned around, "Hm?"

"I just have some questions." She stared back at her new acquaintance for a moment before returning her gaze on Mitsuru, "Who... is he?"

"His name is Minato Arisato, a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here." Her gaze turned curious, "I'm guessing you want to know...?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, "Well... is it okay? For him to be here? 'Cuz of, you know..."

"Yes..." She put a hand to her chin, pondering as well, "I was wondering about that as well."

"Yeah," Yukari grimaced as she remembered pulling her 'gun' on him. She had to apologise for acting so weirdly, "He came at _that_ time. He didn't even look disturbed in any way."

"That might just be his demeanour, Takeba. I read his file before his arrival and..." She stopped for a moment, "...no, you should ask him yourself."

"It's personal?"

Mitsuru nodded, "Yes. As for him staying here? I guess we'll see." She stared behind Yukari and smiled, "You might want to lead him to his room already."

Yukari looked back to see him slouching over with his eyes closed, "Is he asleep?!" She rushed away before calling out to her, "Be right back!"

Yukari just got there in time to catch him by his shoulders, "Whoa!"

It was at this time that he woke up, "Hm?"

"You're tired, huh?"

"Yeah," he yawned, "What is it, one in the morning?"

"Something like that." She smiled, "Come on, let's get you to your room. Do you need any help?"

"Nah. Lead the way, please." She wasn't convinced until he stood up straight stretching his limbs, but gave it another try anyways.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not injured, Takeba-san."

"Alright."

While she had many questions running around her head about her schoolmate, she put them aside to bask in the amicably casual and laid-back attitude the young man exuded. It was friendly enough to act in act in an overly friendly manner, even if they weren't acquainted well enough.

Well, minus pulling the 'gun' on him. Nevertheless, it was different from hanging around the upperclassmen and she welcomed it.

"Well, this is it." She started as she stopped at a door, "Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall."

"Mm," he nodded, "That's what the lady said downstairs."

She let out a snort, "She's not that old."

"She looks and acts like a lady." He spoke conversationally, "So, uh..."

"Do you have any questions?"

He seemed to think about it for a moment, "What's that contract for?"

Out of all the questions he could've asked, this one confused her, "Huh? What contract?" Really. A contract?

"Never mind. Don't worry about it." He smiled at her, "Well, if you don't mind, I want to lie down now. Got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow."

"Right," she was about to leave, but hesitated, "Um... can I ask you something?"

"I've got another minute, sure." He had entered the room and was standing in the doorway, an inquisitive yet drowsy expression on his face.

"On your way from the station, was... everything okay?"

"...what do you mean?"

"You know what I..." Yukari sighed, "Never mind. It seems like you're alright." She plastered a tired smile on her face. The days were just getting longer and it seemed like he didn't know what he had been through. _That_ part of the day didn't help on the fatigue she was feeling, but she had one last vine for him to grab onto, "If you want, I could show you around campus. You know, get a feel for the surroundings?"

"Are you sure? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't want to, but I could do it myself."

"Please," Yukari insisted, "For my actions during..."

"Our first meeting?" At this, he smirked and her face turned crooked, "Do you do that to everyone you meet? For practice?"

"N-No!" Yukari actually looked scandalised at that, "I would never...!"

"So only me then? Huh..."

It was hard to read him as his visage was painted blankly. Was he serious or just teasing? "L-Look, I-I'm sorry for pointing a gun at you. I-It was just-"

"A fake gun. Relax, I was just messing around. Guess I'm more tired than I thought..." He mumbled towards the end.

She heaved a relieved sigh, "Oh..."

"Anyways, it isn't like I had a gun pointed at my face before."

Cue shocked face.

"...it's a joke."

"Ha-ahahaha..." Yukari laughed uncomfortably, "...you have a... weird sense of humour."

"Sorry," he actually seemed ashamed, "I tend to do that when I'm tired. Guess that was a bad introduction, huh?"

"Truthfully? Yeah." They went silent for a couple of beats, before smiling at each other. What a comfortably weird start to this relationship, "Well, I better get going. My offer still stands, Arisato-san."

"I'll think about it."

She moved away from the doorway, until she remembered just _one_ last thing, "Um... I'm sure you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay? Good night."

"Good night."

Minato Arisato... what an interesting guy. She moved across the hallway and down the stairs, all the while thinking about the next day.

And the days after.

This year looked to be interesting with him around.

* * *

 **End.**

* * *

 **AN:** Well. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

I was actually in the midst of doing chapters and new stories when suddenly, exams and college struck. I was settling down for my first year (I'm in my second year now) of college and that was the time I couldn't find much time to sit down and write. Then the holidays came and I went on vacation to visit my grandparents in the Philippines and spend time in the beautiful country of Singapore and some other stuff...

I could go on and on about this, but you don't need to know that. I probably shouldn't be uploading this just a week before my second year starts but hey, after a year of silence: I'm still alive.

This is pretty much a novelisation of Persona 3, albeit with changes. Not on the scale of _Solid Shark_ 's _Defiance of Fate_ (great story by the way), but you know, just the general story.

Cutting this short, I do not know when the next chapter of AOTS or this or my other stories will be uploaded. Sorry. It's still hectic right now.

It's getting late now, so I'll be seeing ya. In the next chapter/story, whenever that is.

PS: I'll be posting my upcoming one-shots/prologues for my other ideas on my bio. The people who are reading this, following me or just (im)patiently waiting for a new chapter deserve this much, at least. Again, sorry. I'm trying to find a time to sit down and write.

Oh yeah, and thank you to the new + old people who left a review on AOTS. If they're reading this, that is. It's crazy to see so much people (17k People, 250 Faves and 308 Follows :O) reading my writing.


End file.
